The Political Consequences of Systemic Negative Policy Experiences in Youth

• In Event: Electoral Effects of Scandals, Crime, and Punishment

Abstract

Adolescents from low-income families often have cumulative interactions with the state via various social welfare policies, such as TANF, Medicaid, and SNAP, as well as school discipline and carceral policies. Youths who interact with these policies are less likely to vote, have lower political interest, and are less trusting of government (Bruch and Soss 2018; Rosenthal and Farhart 2022; Swartz et al. 2009; Weaver and Lerman 2014). However, prior work on youth policy experiences tends to concentrate on a single policy. Less is known about whether the political effects of cumulative policy experiences are additive, compounding, or cancel each other out. Using the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1997 (NLSY97) and the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (Add Health), I explore the relationship between cumulative experience with punitive policies – such as welfare, school discipline, and the carceral state – during adolescence and voting as well as political trust in adulthood. I also look at variations across race and ethnicity. Results have implications for understanding the connection between punitive policy experiences and political inequality.

Author

• Nathan Micatka, University of Iowa